


Beneath the Moon

by sweaterstiel



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-29
Updated: 2013-10-29
Packaged: 2017-12-30 19:40:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1022624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweaterstiel/pseuds/sweaterstiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur Pendragon is your typical prince. Handsome, charismatic, and seems to hit it off with just about any girl he talks to. Merlin is, well, just average (or so he thinks) and certainly isn't any princess. Yet he knows that he and Arthur have a beautiful sort of connection that he can't really describe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beneath the Moon

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank my friends who acted as a sort of beta audience for this fic. Without them, I wouldn't have written it in the first place.

 

Merlin smiled down at the basket of clothes he was currently carrying down the hall from the prince’s room. He was acting like such a _girl_ , but he supposed that might just be the point, as it was the infatuation over another boy that was making him so giddy.

Arthur Pendragon, the fair, kind, and rather dashing prince who seemed to have inherited every good quality that his father didn’t possess, was the object of many girls’ affections. There were peasants and princesses alike hoping to win his heart, and yet somehow this didn’t faze Merlin. He knew better. He knew they shared an almost… magical connection. He couldn’t place it, but he didn’t try to. Something told him that against all odds he had a chance to be with Arthur.

Besides, Merlin couldn’t just ignore the signs. Glances that lingered long enough so that they no longer became glances, but more like stares. Arms and hands brushing each other, but not quick to move away. The fact that Arthur wasn’t actually courting anyone and spent most of his time with Merlin…

Getting sidetracked on all the “what ifs,” Merlin shook his head and concentrated on what he knew for sure. And what he knew for sure was that when Arthur had handed over his laundry basket to Merlin and their hands touched, the prince kept his hand gently rested over Merlin’s for several moments longer than a mere friend would. And in the end Merlin had been the one to pull away, speed walking out of the room with his heart hammering in his chest and his cheeks flushing a bright pink. Now he wished he’d stayed and waited to see if Arthur would’ve said or done anything. But nerves had gotten the better of the young warlock, who now vowed to never run out on an opportunity like that.

 

__________

 

The rest of the day seemed uneventful. Merlin ran chores for Gaius and became increasingly bitter with each task. He picked herbs, delivered medicine to patients, and helped to set up for the banquet later that night when all he really wanted to do was run off to wherever Arthur was and see if the prince had anything to say on what had happened earlier that day.

By late afternoon Merlin had only one more bundle of herbs to deliver to a shopkeeper in the lower town, and he marched down the hall to Gaius’s chambers to pick it up, striding along with a set expression that somewhat resembled blatant hatred, when out of nowhere a firm hand grabbed his arm and pulled him behind one of the wide pillars that lined the hall.

“What the hell was-” Merlin began but stopped when he looked up to find himself face to face with Arthur. The prince was still holding on to Merlin’s arm, but in a more gentle way. Merlin’s skin felt warm where the other boy’s hand was resting, and he wished that Arthur would never let go.

“You weren’t around today since this morning,” Arthur began and released Merlin’s arm, the latter breathing out a faint whimper at the loss. “Thought maybe I’d scared you off, but that seemed unlikely judging by the color your cheeks had turned.” Merlin felt his heart beat with increasing speed. So Arthur knew, or at least suspected, that Merlin had feelings for him of some kind. Merlin’s first instinct was to flee and hide himself in embarrassment, yet here he was, with Arthur, and the latter wasn’t teasing him, but rather wondering where he was all day. Interesting. “Some of the servants said Gaius had you running all over town,” Arthur continued with ease, “so I thought I’d just have to ambush you here.”

“How long have you been waiting here?” was all Merlin could stammer out. His eyes were fixated on Arthur’s, a stunning blue that almost matched Merlin’s own.

“Long enough,” he replied, leaning in so that his lips brushed Merlin’s cheek as they made their way to his ear. “Meet me in the training field during the banquet, you’ll know when,” Arthur whispered. Merlin was frozen in pure shock. The other boy pulled back and flashed Merlin a quick smile before turning around the corner of the pillar to disappear down the hall. Merlin could hear his footsteps fade away as he was left with his own thoughts.

He leaned his back against the pillar, facing the wall, and slid down until he was sitting on the floor. Merlin pulled his knees and buried his face in his lap, no longer able to contain the wide grin that had been pushing on his lips. He chuckled a little; still not fully convinced he hadn’t just imagined everything. Merlin stood up, his expression from before now replaced with a shy smile, with the occasional sheepish glance down at his feet as he continued on his way to Gaius’s chambers. Once again, Merlin found himself behaving like a total girl.

 

__________

 

Time during the banquet seemed to slow down, as if every second lasted minutes and every minute an hour. Merlin wandered around slowly, refreshing water glasses and removing plates when necessary. He watched Arthur mostly, looking for any sign that would tell him to leave. He had said to meet in the field. He had said Merlin would know when. So now Merlin waited impatiently as he watched Arthur chat with the girls of the court. He was charismatic, and probably unaware of how much he was leading these girls on. Then again, maybe he did know. Merlin shook his head and smiled. Sometimes Arthur could be such a prat.

When he looked up again he saw that Arthur was now talking to his father who wore an almost disappointed expression. Merlin watched carefully as Arthur then got up from the seat and turned to leave. But as the prince reached the door he turned around and looked directly at Merlin, giving the boy a wink before finally exiting the room. Merlin felt his cheeks go hot and he began to usher around the room, hurriedly making excuses for needing to leave so soon. He tried to keep his composure as he headed toward the door, but as soon as he left the banquet behind Merlin erupted into a wide smile and nearly sprinted out of the castle.

Arthur was waiting for him when he reached the field, jogging over to meet Merlin as the boy approached, grabbing his hand in his own. Merlin looked down with a smile, happily entwining his fingers with Arthur’s.

“Follow me,” Arthur said and ran towards the forest, pulling Merlin along behind. The prince looked wild and daring and happy, and Merlin thought he’d never looked more attractive.

They ran together through the dark, yet welcoming, woods until they reached a small creek. The moonlight flooded through an opening in the trees above and danced on the water as silver streaks. Merlin had never seen a place so beautiful.

“This is one of my favorite places in Camelot,” Arthur said, smiling at Merlin. “What do you think?”

Merlin looked at Arthur who, in the moonlight, was positively glowing. Feeling impulsive and not really caring that he did, Merlin reached his hands up to cup Arthur’s face, pulling him in for a kiss. “I love it,” he whispered against the other boy’s lips when they parted. Merlin didn’t have time to think and then worry about the stunt he had just pulled, because right away Arthur leaned in for another kiss, this time longer than the first. Arthur was smiling through it, and Merlin was convinced that if happiness or love had a taste, this would be it.

Even though Merlin had liked to imagine that Arthur had feelings for him, this was still all a bit of a shock to him. So when they pulled apart the second time, Merlin whispered, “I didn’t think you would ever like me. Not like this.”

Arthur laughed in way that mimicked complete disbelief. “Please, I may be the prince, but you Merlin,” he paused, looking the other boy up and down, “are the one who is really amazing. Never could quite get over your eyes. As if I wouldn’t like you. Idiot.” Merlin smiled at the insult that Arthur used on him almost daily.

“Dollophead,” Merlin countered and the two embraced again, neither quick to part and all too eager to ditch their clothing. As Merlin lay with Arthur, combing his fingers through the other boy’s silky blond hair as Arthur traced circles on his back, he wished that he could spend every night beneath the moon, wrapped in Arthur’s arms. And perhaps he would.


End file.
